The Non-Christmas Christmas - A Reflection

Yes I am well aware that it is February, but I had to get this out into the wild...

I will start here - I’ve always loved Christmas. Truly loved it. I’ve called myself a Christmas geek more than once. I have loved the lights, the rituals, the sense that something soft and meaningful is unfolding. For years, I leaned all the way in. Alllll the way. 

But last year, the magic felt different. Not wrong. Not sad. Just different. And instead of pushing myself to recreate a feeling that wasn’t naturally there, I paused long enough to ask why. Maybe it’s a season of life. Maybe it's a new tradition evolving or just maybe it’s perimenopause creeping in 😂 Honestly, all of the above feels possible.

What I did know was this; the usual version of Christmas no longer felt like what I wanted, nor what our family needed. We chose experience over excess & the kids are still talking about their holiday in February. Also this isn’t an anti-gifting rant. I love beautiful things, I always have.

But over time, experience has quietly become more valuable than stuff. Time together. Shared days. The kind of memories that live on rather than on than stuffed in the drawers.
Experience now feels like the real luxury. And when I listened honestly to myself, I realised I didn’t want more. I wanted less but in a deeper way. I guess that's why I started questioning the Christmas tradition default ...

So many of our Christmas traditions are inherited rather than consciously chosen. We repeat them because they’re familiar, not necessarily because they’re still nourishing. For many of us, Christmas has slowly become loud, ridiculously expensive, overstimulating, exhausting and for what? To be the best parent in the world?

I found myself wondering, what if we were allowed to question the default? What if choosing differently was an act of care, not rebellion?

And these questions led us to Rotuma, a remote Pacific island where life moves at a VERY different pace. No electricity. No shops. No constant noise. And zero mass consumerism. 

Our days were shaped by sunlight, ocean swims, shared meals and conversation. Nights by darkness, stars, lulling of the waves & quietness to just be. Life was stripped back to its essentials. And we thrived. This wasn't an escape from our life, it felt like a return to it.

In theme of keeping it simple, we of course took Lovette with us. Lovette was born from moments like these slow, instinctive, grounded in care and presence. From daily rituals that allow time presence.

Our Waters and Oils were apart of our daily rhythm skin care as ritual, scent as grounding, hydration for our hair for long days in the sea & sun. The same simple, nourishing practices we use at home, carried into a completely different landscape. It was also lovely to have something reminiscent of home, for the girls too.

Lovette isn’t about perfection or excess. It’s about returning to what feels good, supportive, and true; wherever you are. And I really felt that!

Being together truly was the gift, my son left home not long after & to have that concentrated time altogether was priceless.  So there was no wrapping paper last year. No packed schedules. No pressure to perform Christmas a certain way. We ate as a village, played volleyball with the kids in the sweet tropical rain, lazed in the hammocks & ate too much food. And it was perfect. 

It's also been interesting telling friends & family that we weren't going to be here for Christmas and actually we weren't celebrating it at all. So when we shared this plan, the responses tended to fall into two camps.

The first: “WTF, how?”
Disbelief, logistics panic, fear of breaking tradition group 

And the ...“Oh my gosh… I want that.” Often followed by I’m exhausted and I don't want to do any of this. Can I come too? 

Those reactions tell a bigger story about how tired so many of us are and how deeply we’re craving something simpler.

So whilst this isn't a prescription, it’s permission to listen to your body, to question what no longer fits, to choose presence over performance even at Christmas. 

So that aside, it's a gentle invitation to get curious about the things we just do on auto-pilot on the daily. Where can you honour yourself & your family more going forward?

With love

Kelly